Egypt: Museum of Modern Art regains its luster after "years of closure"
Cultural circles welcome its reopening
Museum of Modern Egyptian Art in a new look (Visual Arts Sector)
The cultural and artistic circles in Egypt welcomed the reopening of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, Tuesday, after completing its development and updating the museum display scenario, after more than 30 years during which the museum was closed for restoration and development more than once.
The opening of the museum, on Tuesday evening, January 22, 2025, witnessed a large turnout of visual artists in addition to a number of officials.
The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art settled in its current building in the Egyptian Opera House Square in 1983, after many years of moving its collections between several locations, most of which were heritage palaces, and it was opened in 1991 to be one of the arts platforms affiliated with the Ministry of Culture represented by the Visual Arts Sector.
The museum's opening ceremony included celebrating the 112th anniversary of the birth of one of the icons of Egyptian art, Hussein Bikar. An exhibition was organized inside the museum for the works of the late Egyptian artist under the title "Bikar's Cache", and a documentary film about the transfer of the Abu Simbel Temple under the title "The Eighth Wonder" was shown.
Artist Ayman Lotfy commented on the celebration and wrote on Facebook: "Thank you for the elegant celebration, and thank you to the Cultural Development Fund for the professional introduction to the wonderful documentary film The Eighth Wonder, and thank you to the Fine Arts Sector for the effort at the Museum of Modern Art."
Artist Ashraf Reda said that "the Museum of Modern Art is a symbol that we are proud of because it brings together artworks from all generations from the pioneer generation until now," adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that "the museum was closed several times for renovations and maintenance, and the opening was good news for artists and art lovers in Egypt, as it opened in its most beautiful form, with a new museum display, and good coordination that took into account gathering generations of artists according to the chronological sequence from the pioneers to the following generations."
Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hano, Minister of Culture, stressed that the reopening of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art with the "Bikkar Cache" exhibition is a tribute to the spirit of Egyptian creativity and an embodiment of our commitment to protecting cultural heritage. This event represents an open window for new generations to learn from art pioneers who made their works bridges between the past and the future, according to a statement by the ministry.
According to the Fine Arts Sector, "the museum underwent multiple development processes that included museum display systems, lighting, and security systems during successive periods, as it opened in 2005, and was subjected to other periods of closure, until it finally opened in 2020, then it was partially closed after the Corona crisis and for development work."
Dr. Walid Qanoush says that the development that took place in the museum is a continuation of the work of previous leaders in the Fine Arts Sector, adding to Asharq Al-Awsat that "the reopening witnessed celebration, joy, and happiness among senior visual artists who were keen to attend the celebration, and the celebration of the great artist Bikar was very successful, and it is the beginning of restoring the museum display to the Dimensions Hall located inside the museum."
The Museum of Modern Egyptian Art includes thousands of distinguished artworks created by Egyptian artists, as it contains a large number of artworks in drawing, engraving, photography, ceramics and sculpture that represent the living pulse of the reality and history of the contemporary Egyptian art movement, over a period of 100 years.
Qanoush explains that “the museum went through several stages of development that affected its operational efficiency,” adding: “Recently, the problem of water leakage from the ceilings was finally resolved, and central air conditioning was implemented for the entire museum building, as well as air conditioning the museum’s stores and equipping them with an automatic extinguishing system, in addition to urgent maintenance such as lighting and paint updates, and updating security systems.”
Dr. Ashraf Reda confirmed that “one of the most important things announced during the opening is that the museum will be open 24 hours a day from 9 am to 9 pm, as well as the reopening of the Dimensions Hall, and I hope that there will be a new marketing plan for the museum, and I also hope to restore the project of selling replicas or the gift corner that used to sell products such as bags, shirts and cups with paintings of pioneers of Egyptian art on them.”
He pointed out that "the museum includes about a thousand paintings and artworks in the current museum display system, while the warehouses include between 16 and 18 thousand paintings representing the artistic movement from the twenties of the last century until today. The museum was also reopened with an exhibition by the great artist Bikar in the Ab’ad Hall. There is a plan to use this hall to present Egyptian art in different ways, and the next exhibition will be for the collections of a group of young artists."
The head of the Fine Arts Sector pointed out that the museum will be open starting next February from 9 am to 9 pm, except for Mondays, after directives from the Minister of Culture to open the museum for an evening period, as well as opening it on Fridays starting at 1 pm, which was considered a holiday.
Among the works included in the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art are paintings by pioneers of art such as Mahmoud Said, Mahmoud Mokhtar, Youssef Kamel, Ragheb Ayad, Mohamed Nagi, Adham and Seif Wanly, in addition to later generations such as Gamal El-Sejiny, Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar, Hamed Neda and Adam Henein.
